Which dangerous idea eventually got Roger Williams cast out of Salem?
Select one:
a. Europeans should learn Native American language
b. Europeans should not try to convert Native Americans to Christianity
https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/roger-williams-banished.html
The dangerous idea that eventually led to Roger Williams being cast out of Salem was b. Europeans should not try to convert Native Americans to Christianity.
To understand this, it helps to have some background information. Roger Williams was a Puritan minister who immigrated to New England in the early 17th century. The Puritans were a religious group that sought to "purify" the Church of England from what they perceived as corrupt practices. They were known for their strict religious beliefs and their desire to form a community based on those beliefs.
When Williams arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he quickly became a respected religious leader. However, he began to express ideas that were seen as radical and dangerous by the Puritan leaders. One of these ideas was his belief that the church and the state should be separate.
In addition, Williams argued that the English settlers had no right to take Native American lands without fair compensation. He also believed that it was wrong for the English settlers to force their religion on the Native Americans and that they should instead learn the Native American languages and customs to establish peaceful relations.
These ideas put Williams at odds with the Puritan authorities, who believed that their mission was to establish a Christian community in the New World and convert the Native Americans to Christianity. The Puritan leaders considered Williams' ideas to be heretical and dangerous to their goal of building a strong, unified society.
As a result, Williams was eventually banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. He went on to found the settlement of Providence, which would later become the colony of Rhode Island. In Rhode Island, Williams established a society based on religious freedom and the separation of church and state, making it a safe haven for those who were persecuted for their beliefs.
So, it was Roger Williams' belief that Europeans should not try to convert Native Americans to Christianity, along with his ideas of religious freedom and the separation of church and state, that eventually got him cast out of Salem.